Starting a R200/R220/R300/R300M/R320/R340 printer from scratch

Fenrir Enterprises

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The black on my R220 has finally died and I can't get it to come back at all. No bands, nothing coming out. I figure either the suction has finally failed due to all the dried pigment ink gumming up the inside of the printer and the head is dead due to printing while empty. It has performed admirably up to now, but I think it is finally dead. It hasn't actually printed a lot but I think it had one too many downtimes and possibly a head running dry once or twice. Several of the sponges (the ones directly under the printhead run area) inside are ruined from pigment ink drying on them and it's generally a complete mess.

I have a brand new R220 that hasn't ever been used. I'm hoping the "null ink" it's shipped with hasn't dried in the printhead. I've had a lot of minor issues with my printer ever since I started refilling, and while I know there are a lot of threads about this, I want to know what you all think would be the best method to use:

How would you create a waste tank? I've tried several methods, velcro, taping, etc, and all of them have managed to end up in spills once in awhile. At one point the wall behind the printer got sprayed with ink, which was strange because the tank had just been cleaned and it looks more like high pressure fluid came out from the waste tank, but I've never seen it come out strongly before. Is there an aftermarket waste tank attachment that is popular?

Who makes the best refillable carts for an older printer like this? I don't want to mention my current supplier from the start, because overall I've had good experiences with them, but 3 years ago I bought 2 sets of cartridges with auto-reset chips. One I used with cleaning solution. The other I kept empty. Until this year, I always pulled the cartridges and reset them because I was afraid of running the tanks dry. I got tired of it taking 2-5 days for the ink to "stabilize" and stop banding, etc, every time I pulled the tanks out and put them back in. I swapped to the spare set of auto-reset carts... and they did not work. The printer refused to recognize them. I ordered another set, and they worked, but I have had problems: The printer is shared on the network. It's directly plugged into one computer. Randomly, print jobs sent from network laptops would fail to print. They would show up in the queue as "printing" but they would not work. I thought maybe a print had to be done from the computer in order to bypass the "you are using aftermarket carts" that pops up every so often, but this did not solve the problem. It would simply randomly refuse to print, and I would have to manually delete the spool and reset the computer in order to be able to network print again. The black cart would reset all the time, while the color carts would not. Also, if I do pull the carts out, the ink drips out of them quite rapidly, so I think they do not have good seals underneath. I imagine there is not much effort put into making the R200/series refillable carts anymore, but does anyone with more experience in buying multiples have a preferred supplier for these? And has anyone ever encountered the sharing problem?

I'm really considering not even bothering and buying a Workforce 1100 or a Stylus Photo 1400 but I worry about the inability to reset the waste tank counter and I really don't have room for it anyway. I need to be able to use pigment inks because I print waterproof signs on vinyl.
 

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Fenrir Enterprises said:
The black on my R220 has finally died and I can't get it to come back at all. No bands, nothing coming out. I figure either the suction has finally failed due to all the dried pigment ink gumming up the inside of the printer and the head is dead due to printing while empty. It has performed admirably up to now, but I think it is finally dead. It hasn't actually printed a lot but I think it had one too many downtimes and possibly a head running dry once or twice. Several of the sponges (the ones directly under the printhead run area) inside are ruined from pigment ink drying on them and it's generally a complete mess.
Have you tried the passive printhead cleaning technique where you soak a pad of kitchen paper towel or similar in a suitable printhead cleaning solution, place it on the printhead resting/parking pad before moving the printhead over the pad and leaving for an hour, swap (leave for 3 hours), swap (leave for 12 hours).. This approach allows the solution to wick up into the nozzles and effectively soak the clog so that it breaks down back into solution and is either drawn out by the pad or during your next cleaning run.

If the pump is genuinely shot then the other inks would almost certainly be clogging up too so I have my doubts that you're that far gone yet.

I have a brand new R220 that hasn't ever been used. I'm hoping the "null ink" it's shipped with hasn't dried in the printhead. I've had a lot of minor issues with my printer ever since I started refilling, and while I know there are a lot of threads about this, I want to know what you all think would be the best method to use:
How would you create a waste tank? I've tried several methods, velcro, taping, etc, and all of them have managed to end up in spills once in awhile. At one point the wall behind the printer got sprayed with ink, which was strange because the tank had just been cleaned and it looks more like high pressure fluid came out from the waste tank, but I've never seen it come out strongly before. Is there an aftermarket waste tank attachment that is popular?
I really need to work on my marketing!!! *cough* *tries to subtly point to signature, gives up and just drags OP to signature and rubs face in it* ;)

Who makes the best refillable carts for an older printer like this? (snip)
Ignoring the bulk of the rest of query might I suggest a CIS system instead... it avoids the need to remove cartridges to refill them, thus avoiding the potential for another air bubble build up in the cart exit port... Also avoids the reset issues but if you can source some older ARC chips that would be better as the R220 will accept the old power off/on to reset approach which is chip dependent. I might have a set that will work with the R220 which you can have for nought BTW.

The printer is shared on the network. It's directly plugged into one computer.
I'd get yourself a second hand printserver or even a USB server... there must be a few around that people are getting rid of, now that network ready printers are readily available. That takes the extra computer out of the equation and is just tidier IMHO.

Randomly, print jobs sent from network laptops would fail to print. They would show up in the queue as "printing" but they would not work. I thought maybe a print had to be done from the computer in order to bypass the "you are using aftermarket carts" that pops up every so often, but this did not solve the problem. It would simply randomly refuse to print, and I would have to manually delete the spool and reset the computer in order to be able to network print again.
The error message from Epson is just the Epson Status monitor being a pain in the [backside] and you can disable that by going to:
(R220) Printing Preferences > Maintenance (Tab) > Speed & Progress (Button) > Tick the Disable Epson Status Monitor 3 (or whatever the option says for the R220 driver) > Apply > OK
Repeat on all computers that use the printer.

As for the rest of it, sounds like the computer is the problem rather than the printer... A printserver would remove that from the equation and allow you to just get on... Rebooting that would be a case of pull power from Printserver unit, wait 5 seconds, plug power back in... but hopefully you would be back working again.

I'm really considering not even bothering and buying a Workforce 1100 or a Stylus Photo 1400 but I worry about the inability to reset the waste tank counter and I really don't have room for it anyway. I need to be able to use pigment inks because I print waterproof signs on vinyl.
Both are resetable and I can help with that, as per waste tank...

All waste ink reset/kit fitting info for:
Workforce 1100
Stylus Photo 1400

Not sure whether the 1100 is a better printer although it is specifically designed for pigment inks... the 1400 is reportedly good at handling pigment inks though and there's plenty of resources out there on the pro's, con's and things to watch out for.


Hope the above was useful anyway... :)
 

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websnail said:
Have you tried the passive printhead cleaning technique where you soak a pad of kitchen paper towel or similar in a suitable printhead cleaning solution, place it on the printhead resting/parking pad before moving the printhead over the pad and leaving for an hour, swap (leave for 3 hours), swap (leave for 12 hours).. This approach allows the solution to wick up into the nozzles and effectively soak the clog so that it breaks down back into solution and is either drawn out by the pad or during your next cleaning run.

If the pump is genuinely shot then the other inks would almost certainly be clogging up too so I have my doubts that you're that far gone yet.
I've tried pretty much every trick posted here, from soaking to cleaning carts to directly injecting Windex with a syringe. When printing, the black doesn't come out at all, with the cleaning carts (Windex mixture) there wasn't even a hint of moisture on the paper. I don't think it's the pump so much as the seal between printhead and waste pad which has finally worn out, or most likely, the black nozzles have burnt out from running dry one too many times. I've cleared up the printer problems plenty of times before and this time it just seems to be completely shot. Even then I'd considered switching printers due to how dirty it was on the inside.

Despite the waste tank modification the printer was still full of goo. Pigment ink ruins the sponges on the left hand side of the printhead run area and the T shaped sponge to the right of the waste pad. It doesn't drip through, it just stays in the sponge and hardens into a brick of plastic. I was never able to find a material to properly replace these, especially the right hand side one which seems to be some kind of highly absorbent card stock and not sponge. The waste/suction pad itself was finally starting to get some bad buildup lately, probably due to printing even less than usual, but sometimes I had the urge to take the printer out and hose it down due to all the ink buildup inside of it. My R340 using OEM dye inks has none of this mess.

I really need to work on my marketing!!! *cough* *tries to subtly point to signature, gives up and just drags OP to signature and rubs face in it* ;)
But I don't live in the UK!

Ignoring the bulk of the rest of query might I suggest a CIS system instead... it avoids the need to remove cartridges to refill them, thus avoiding the potential for another air bubble build up in the cart exit port... Also avoids the reset issues but if you can source some older ARC chips that would be better as the R220 will accept the old power off/on to reset approach which is chip dependent. I might have a set that will work with the R220 which you can have for nought BTW.
I really don't print enough to justify a CIS. I'm actually considering making the HP Laserjet P1505 the main printer and only using the Epson for the vinyl printing and the occasional need for color. Thanks for the offer on the chips, but the one on my new set seem to work fine... it's the cartridges themselves that I'm not entirely sure are good quality. I won't know until I get the next printer setup anyway... kind of trying to find one on Craigslist first (though since I already have a spare this may be kind of silly... especially since by the time I break the next one there probably won't be anyone making carts for it anymore...)

As for the rest of it, sounds like the computer is the problem rather than the printer... A printserver would remove that from the equation and allow you to just get on... Rebooting that would be a case of pull power from Printserver unit, wait 5 seconds, plug power back in... but hopefully you would be back working again.
The Status Monitor was disabled but I could have accidentally re-enabled it at some point while testing things. If I find a print server on clearance or in a thrift store someday I'll probably grab it, but otherwise it's just one more expense. If I make the laser printer the main I won't have to worry about it anyway since it works just fine. I should grab a few more aftermarket carts before the prices go up.

Both are resetable and I can help with that, as per waste tank...

All waste ink reset/kit fitting info for:
Workforce 1100
Stylus Photo 1400

Not sure whether the 1100 is a better printer although it is specifically designed for pigment inks... the 1400 is reportedly good at handling pigment inks though and there's plenty of resources out there on the pro's, con's and things to watch out for.
I keep hearing the 1100 is far more rugged, and that would be a bonus since I may intend to travel with it to a local convention to do on-the-spot vinyl decal printing and photo enlargements as well as banners, etc, for other vendors. My main concern is the color gamut. I bought a C88 (which broke quickly, I think I just got a lemon) which was then exchanged for a C88+, Durabrite Ultra inks. I could not get anything remotely near a bright Cyan or a Royal/Primary Blue color out of either of them. Even using Epson's photo paper the best I could get was dark navy. On plain paper it was only a few steps up from black. At first I thought it was because pigment inks, but my R220 with pigment inks can do plenty of bright blue colors. Nothing bright as a dyebased printer, but it was definitely a massively higher gamut than the C88. I would buy a Workforce if I knew it could do decent blues, but I definitely don't want to buy it, test it, hate it, and then bring back a used product.

Hope the above was useful anyway... :)
Nope, you didn't give me a free 44" wide roll printer! :p ;)

(Thanks :) )
 

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Fenrir Enterprises said:
(snip) Pigment ink ruins
(snip)
My R340 using OEM dye inks has none of this mess.
Ah... Well that might be all you need to know there... If you're using Pigment ink in an R220 then it'll clog far more readily than anything else...

I really need to work on my marketing!!! *cough* *tries to subtly point to signature, gives up and just drags OP to signature and rubs face in it* ;)
But I don't live in the UK!
I have to ask... Why is that a consideration? A waste kit is less than 4.5 ounces in weight so postage is very low... It's not like trying to ship ink.

I have to admit the "If only you sold in the USA..." comment I occasionally get does leave me non-plussed... Sure for inks and heavy items, but a waste kit?...

I really don't print enough to justify a CIS. I'm actually considering making the HP Laserjet P1505 the main printer and only using the Epson for the vinyl printing and the occasional need for color. Thanks for the offer on the chips, but the one on my new set seem to work fine... it's the cartridges themselves that I'm not entirely sure are good quality. I won't know until I get the next printer setup anyway... kind of trying to find one on Craigslist first (though since I already have a spare this may be kind of silly... especially since by the time I break the next one there probably won't be anyone making carts for it anymore...)
Makes sense although if you reduce your Epson printer usage you may find you're getting clogging from lack of use... Something to consider certainly.

The Status Monitor was disabled but I could have accidentally re-enabled it at some point while testing things. If I find a print server on clearance or in a thrift store someday I'll probably grab it, but otherwise it's just one more expense. If I make the laser printer the main I won't have to worry about it anyway since it works just fine. I should grab a few more aftermarket carts before the prices go up.
Print servers are bound to be toss-out items now so keeping an eye would pay dividends.

I keep hearing the 1100 is far more rugged, and that would be a bonus since I may intend to travel with it to a local convention to do on-the-spot vinyl decal printing and photo enlargements as well as banners, etc, for other vendors. My main concern is the color gamut. I bought a C88 (which broke quickly, I think I just got a lemon) which was then exchanged for a C88+, Durabrite Ultra inks. I could not get anything remotely near a bright Cyan or a Royal/Primary Blue color out of either of them. Even using Epson's photo paper the best I could get was dark navy. On plain paper it was only a few steps up from black. At first I thought it was because pigment inks, but my R220 with pigment inks can do plenty of bright blue colors. Nothing bright as a dyebased printer, but it was definitely a massively higher gamut than the C88. I would buy a Workforce if I knew it could do decent blues, but I definitely don't want to buy it, test it, hate it, and then bring back a used product.
I suspect you'll get the same results with any of the Workforce printers but I've not tested on the sort of things you're looking at... Pigment will always be low brightness though.

Hope the above was useful anyway... :)
Nope, you didn't give me a free 44" wide roll printer! :p ;)
Shucks and I used to have one just lying around to ship to the USA too... :p back atcha ;)

(Thanks :) )
Welcome... Would be interested in more thoughts on the whole buying outside US thing though as that's one hell of a hurdle that drives me slightly scatty... It's not like I sell tea or anything ;)
 

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websnail said:
Ah... Well that might be all you need to know there... If you're using Pigment ink in an R220 then it'll clog far more readily than anything else...
Hmm well it's not that the printer clogs, it's that it turns into a mess. I keep seeing people post they've used an R200/R300/R300M/R220/R320/R340 series printer for heavy use, hundreds of prints per week, etc, far more than I do, and it's still running fine. I've never gotten an answer as to what kind of mess this creates both with pigment or dye ink, especially since the printer drains into waste pads on the left hand side... wouldn't the waste tank eventually overflow even with the waste tank modification? I have this urge to cut several holes in the printer to see inside of it, and syringe out ink buildup. Also maybe I should just wash the sponges once a month. I also wonder what the goo buildup on Ultrachrome printers is, as far as I've seen the Durabrite printers don't have any significant design differences for waste ink than the dyebased ones do.

I have to ask... Why is that a consideration? A waste kit is less than 4.5 ounces in weight so postage is very low... It's not like trying to ship ink.
I have to admit the "If only you sold in the USA..." comment I occasionally get does leave me non-plussed... Sure for inks and heavy items, but a waste kit?...
In my experience, buying and shipping from outside the country is considerably more expensive than buying inside. For an expensive item that you can't buy anywhere else, such as a custom made product, a collectible, or simply something useful that is not sold in the States, people will pay the shipping and customs hassles just to get it. The lower the ratio of shipping to product cost the less appealing the product is. For something inexpensive where the shipping is higher than the product itself, people won't do it. I just ran the shipping calculator on your website and $5-6 is more than reasonable shipping for a small item. I think a lot of companies actually overestimate the shipping in order to avoid having to ship outside their country and the assorted paperwork that goes along with it.

In my personal experience shipping items to the UK with the postal service, I have had several expensive items lost (or "lost") or delayed by customs for a very long time. I finally had to refuse to use the postal service for international items and the UPS/FedEx/DHL costs were high enough to pretty much ruin any chances of keeping an international market. A lot of companies in the US refuse to ship via the postal service, so if you want a $1.50 item you'll spend $8 (or whatever the UPS minimum is these days) to get it, even though if they put it in an envelope, sent it via mail, lost it twice and made the customer pay for it again, it would still be cheaper than using UPS, although there's also the "time wasted on a tiny unprofitable item" and "credit card fees" factor. Also there's the "want it overnight" mentality a lot of people have, when I shipped retail we'd have people in the 1-day zone buy things and expect it overnight, even though it's not guaranteed unless you actually pay for overnight shipping.

Makes sense although if you reduce your Epson printer usage you may find you're getting clogging from lack of use... Something to consider certainly.
I should probably set up something to automatically run a nozzle check daily.

I suspect you'll get the same results with any of the Workforce printers but I've not tested on the sort of things you're looking at... Pigment will always be low brightness though.
I'm perfectly happy with the color gamut of the R220 with pigment inks. The 4-color printer was simply unacceptable for any kind of art or decal printing that involved blues. I would have to have someone with a Workforce 1100 print out a few sample charts for me to see if they have solved that issue because our 4-color pigment HP 8500A at work does fine with bright blues.

Welcome... Would be interested in more thoughts on the whole buying outside US thing though as that's one hell of a hurdle that drives me slightly scatty... It's not like I sell tea or anything ;)
You might get more business if you include a bag of jelly babies with each order (the import store here is always out of them!) :D
 
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